Forgiveness
by FelixFelicis13
Summary: It's his sixth year, after the Mudblood incident, and Severus Snape is having a hard time without Lily Evans as a best friend. So what happens when an almost-fatal incident involving Lily and his amateur Death Eater friends turns Severus's life upside-down? Can Lily forgive him and help him turn away from the Dark Arts? Snape/Lily - Marauders Era
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the queen, J.K. Rowling.**

The familiar sounds of his father's drunken shouts seeped through the creaky floorboards of the old house down Spinner's End by the river as Severus Snape tried his best to focus on the tattered textbook he was reading. It was an interesting one, going in depth about some of the rarer and more dangerous to procure potions ingredients and why they were so particularly effective in potions, but for some reason his thoughts kept wandering away from the properties of boomslang skin to a certain girl whose hair was as fiery as its owner could be.

Burying himself in his solitude and his studies had always been Severus's way of escaping the constant arguing that was the usual background of his life away from Hogwarts, but up until last year he had had the company of Lily Evans as well.

The mere thought of his ex best friend sent a web of emotions and memories spiraling through his head. The first time he had met her, how he had burst from his hiding place to announce that she was a witch, but then disappointed when, instead of being as excited as he thought she would be, had left with her sister. Later, though, he had found her again, this time without her bossy Muggle sister, and explained what he had meant. But then, last year, after he had accidentally called her a Mudblood after she had come to his defense and had tried to apologize…

 _"I'm not interested."_

 _"I've made excuses for you for years."_

 _"None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you."_

 _"You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine."_

The sounds of yet another angry shouting match beginning downstairs pierced his painful recollections. Severus slammed his book shut in frustration, standing up and tossing it onto his bed. Perhaps a bit of fresh air would clear his thoughts, though unlikely. Anything to get out of the house.

Pulling on his shabby coat over his baggy shirt and too-short jeans - his parents had, of course, not noticed that he had finally had his growth spurt and now almost fit into the coat that had once seemed to ridiculously huge on him but certainly not into the jeans he'd had since third year - he quietly stepped out of his room and down the stairs, slipping through the kitchen and out the back door to avoid the furious voices of his parents in the living room.

Speeding up once he left the house, Severus walked at a fast pace down the street. A few wisps of the morning mist still hovered above the river that wove its way around Spinner's End as it meandered through the town of Cokeworth, and the July air was humid and warm. I continue to walk without a particular destination in mind, trying to banish the memories of happier summers from his head.

It was only when the woody smell of birch reached his nose and the light on the path ahead of him became dappled that Severus realized where he was. His feet had subconsciously taken him to the very birch tree in the shady grove where he and Lily had had some of their first conversations,, before they had even received they Hogwarts letters. A bittersweet smile crossed his face as he remembered how Lily had earnestly asked him whether she could be sent to Azkaban for doing magic out of school. So much had changed since then.

Severus walked over to the trunk of the tree and sat, leaning back against the rough bark and closing his eyes, allowing himself to relax beneath the canopy of leaves above him.

He didn't know how long he sat there, eyes closed, until he heard a faint rustle in the grass and opened his eyes to see Lily standing a few feet away from him.

Severus sat there for a moment, completely speechless, before scrambling to his feet. He'd only had the memory of her as company through the summer, but suddenly, her she was. After a moment, Lily broke the tense silence,

"Hello," she said coolly.

Severus frantically searched for something to say in return that wouldn't betray what he was feeling. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe greet her in return. Unbidden, the image of the contempt on her face when she rejected his apology after the Mudblood incident came to the forefront of his thoughts.

"Look, Lily, I'm so sorry about what I said that day, it just slipped out and you know I didn't mean it. You're my - " his voice broke on 'best friend,' effectively stopping the jumble of words spilling out of him.

"We've been through this, Severus. We're on different sides now, and the people you spend time with are evil Muggle-born haters planning on joining You-Know-Who the minute they graduate, and you may even want to join them."

Severus was desperate now, he didn't want this conversation to end the same way the first did.

"Please, Lily. I can't lose you. My parents are still arguing, it's gotten even worse and I - I miss you, Lily."

Her gaze softened for a moment, but a look of resolve hardened it again.

"I'm sorry, Sev. But we've gone our separate ways."

Lily looked at Severus for one second longer, then left him standing under the birch tree, staring at the spot where she had disappeared.

 **Hey guys!**

 **So this is my first fic here on - I'd love all comments, feedback, and constructive criticism :) Sorry the prologue was so short, I promise the other chapters will be much longer! Again, please read and review :)**

 **Thanks!**

 **-FelixFelicis13**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 **Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the queen, J.K. Rowling.**

Severus swung his bag over his shoulder as he left the Great Hall, falling into step with Avery and Mulciber. The former was sneeringly making fun of Arthur Weasley's robes.

"-obviously hand-me-downs, much too short for him, and is that a jam stain on the right sleeve? I wouldn't be seen in anything near them for a hundred Galleons, I would die of shame."

"Which he probably doesn't have, anyway." Mulciber sniggered and added.

Severus nodded, attention drawn to where that insufferable Potter boy was making some arrogant comment which Black evidently thought was hilarious.

Avery jabbed his side with his elbow to get his attention. "Hey Snape, what do we have next?"

"Double Potions with the Gryffindors," Severus responded, checking his schedule.

"Ugh, I may as well have stayed in bed this morning then." Mulciber groaned in disgust.

"Hey, I bet you we'll get a laugh out of that Macdonald girl," Avery made his voice ridiculously high-pitched and mimicked the voice of the girl in question. "You stop that Avery! I'll tell Professor Slughorn!" is eyes slid over to Severus to see his reaction, suspicious of how quiet he was that morning.

Severus, who hadn't noticed what Avery had said, gave a quick laugh.

"Or that Mudblood Evans," Mulciber added. "Fierce ones are always the funniest when they break down and cry."

"Severus used to fancy Evans, didn't he?" Avery asked. "You two used to hang out all the time."

Severus, whose face had contorted slightly at the word Mudblood, looked up and said shortly. "We used to be friends, yes."

"Used to? You lovebirds had a falling out?" Mulciber inquired.

"It's a good thing, filthy little Mudblood that she is." Avery said decisively.

Severus was spared a reply by their arrival at the Potions classroom. They entered and took their seats at the back, Professor Slughorn at the door dropping a greeting and a smile here and there as the students entered in groups of green and silver and scarlet and gold.

Severus pointedly didn't pay attention when Potter's gang entered, closely followed by a group of Gryffindor girls, including Mary MacDonald, Gwendolyn Cresswell, and Lily Evans.

"All right then boys and girls, let's get started. Today we'll be working on an Elixir to Induce Euphoria. Now, you want to be careful when adding Shrivelfigs and Sophorous beans, because.."

Severus's attention wandered from the lecture, he already knew it all anyway. Evidently, Potter and Black felt the same way, because a few moments later a note fluttered onto his desk. Flipping it open cautiously, Severus saw a line of James's scrawling hand-writing.

 _Been using your mother's hair products, Snivellus?_

Severus crumpled up the paper with one hand and turned to glare at the pair of them, who just smirked. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he turned back to Professor Slughorn, who was finishing up his lecture.

"-and don't forgot to stir it exactly six times, or all that wormwood will be wasted and the potion will turn a bright green instead of that nice sunshine yellow. Now, today you will be separated into pairs for your assignment. Let's see, Potter and Macmillian, Avery and Nott, Macdonald and Cresswell, Lupin and Prewett, hmm, Evans and Snape, then.."

Snape groaned quietly as Slughorn continued. There went his plan to avoid Lily for all of sixth year. Each pair were assigned to a cauldron, and Severus headed over to theirs, and busied himself sorting out good porcupine quills to use for the potion.

A minute later, a flash of dark red in the corner of his vision and the flowery, cinnamon-y smell washing over his nose told him that Lily had joined him at the work station. He tried not to look up as she silently began juicing the Shrivelfigs.

They continued working in an awkward silence. The work stations were small, so they had to keep brushing and nudging each other as they reached for ingredients or to drop something in simmering cauldron. Severus tensed up every time they touched, all too aware that they hadn't been this close since before the Mudblood incident. Lily kept up her silence pointedly for a while, but it's pretty much impossible to brew a potion with someone else without speaking. Little by little, she loosened up, muttering "I'll chop the wormwood," and that kind of thing as they worked.

Despite the tension, they were an excellent team. Lily was also skilled at potions, and whenever Severus deviated from the textbook's instructions (which was often, because he didn't agree with the textbook's instructions for the Elixir at all), she didn't get annoyed or confused, instead immediately understanding and changing whatever she was doing intuitively.

They worked twice the speed of the other pairs, and were soon almost done. Recalling something Severus had read a while ago on counterbalancing ingredients, he added a sprig of peppermint as Lily finished adding the Sophorous Beans. Professor Slughorn called time, and began walking around inspecting the various elixirs.

He nodded in approval at Lupin and Prewett's, wrinkled his nose at Mulciber and his partner's, then came up to Severus and Lily and peered into their cauldron, where a sunshine yellow mixture bubbled merrily, letting off a pleasantly sweet smell.

"Oho, what have we here?" He exclaimed. "This is practically perfect! Excellent work, you two, well done indeed." He beamed at Lily, ignoring Severus. Collecting a vial of the potion, he turned to rest of the class and began enumerating on all the good points of their elixir, how completely _perfect_ it was.

Forgetting for a moment that they were no longer friends, Severus turned at smiled at Lily – then wanted to kick himself for forgetting. To his surprise, however, Lily gave him a small smile in return, then seemed to remember she was ignoring him and quickly turned away and walked over to where Macdonald was attempting to clean the orange glob that was her elixir out of her cauldron.

 _What was that about?_ Severus wondered as he left he dungeons. She had made it extremely clear to him that she wanted nothing more to do with him. What if-

"Oi, Snivellus! How did you manage to make such a _perfect_ potion while you were making goo-goo eyes at Evans the whole time?"

Severus gritted his teeth. Potter.

"You're just jealous that Slughorn didn't pay any attention to your potion. And hurt that Lily thinks you're an arrogant toerag - which you are." Severus spat back.

Potter reached for his wand, seething, and was about to curse Severus, who reached for his own, when Black came up from behind and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, mate. Moony and Wormtail are waiting for you."

"You got lucky this time, Snape." He spat out Severus's name with disgust. Let's go, Sirius." Still furious, Potter tucked his wand back in his robes and shoved Severus to the side as he left with Black.

xxxxx

"-and I just can't figure out what went wrong with my Elixir, I thought I was doing just fine when it started turning into a _blob_. And Aggie tried her best to help me, but you know she's much better at Transfiguration, so it wasn't much good, and I'm sure Professor Slughorn is so disappointed. Did you know, he actually said my Shrinking Solution was passable last week, and I was improving? But of course, Avery decided to lob Sophorous Beans at my head the entire time, so I just _couldn't_ focus."

Lily nodded sympathetically. "Avery is an ignorant, self-centered, son of a-"

"Hey, Evans, MacDonald - seen James anywhere?" Sirius's drawling voice interrupted Lily's response.

Mary shook her head, sparing Lily having to respond. "No, why?"

"He seems to have forgotten that he promised to show Wormtail his new broomstick after class." He directed a charming smirk at the two girls. "You ladies can come watch if you want."

Lily narrowed her eyes and replied coolly. "No thanks."

"Have it your way, then." Sirius shrugged and walked past them, towards the direction of the Slytherin common room.

Mary sighed as she watched Sirius swagger away. "He is sooo hot."

"Really, Mary, Sirius? He already has plenty of girls fawning over him, and there are plenty of other guys to moon over, you know." Lily rolled her eyes.

"But seriously, have you seen that smirk of his?" Mary said dreamily. "It's to die for."

Mary continued to elaborate on Sirius's good looks, and Lily let her thoughts drift back to today's Potions class.

It had been the first time she had talked to Severus since he had apologized to her again back in Cokeworth, over summer break. She still remembered how vulnerable he had seemed, asking for her forgiveness under their childhood meeting place. She had wanted to forgive him so badly at that moment, to go back to being best friends as they always had been.

But then she had remembered the longing in his voice when he talked about Dark magic, and he and his friends' wish to join up with You-Know-Who, who had already murdered innocent witches, wizards, and Muggles. How he had brushed aside her attempts to show him the cruelty of his Death Eater friends.

 _Maybe I shouldn't have started ignoring him, though._ Lily thought to herself, biting her lip. What if it just pushes him closer to the Dark Arts?

 **Hey guys,**

 **Thank you so much for the follows, favs, and reviews so far! I'm really glad to hear that you guys like it :D This chapter wasn't super plot-ful, but next chapter there will be some sirius rising action going on *evil author laugh***

 **On a more melancholy note, it was so sad to hear about the death of Alan Rickman ;( He was an amazing actor and man and will ALWAYS be remembered. *raises wand***

 **I'd love all positive feedback and constructive criticism, so please review if you have anything to say :)**

 **FelixFelicis13**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 **Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the queen, J.K. Rowling.**

Lily finished her Charms essay with a flourish, then blew on it gently to dry the still-wet ink before carefully rolling it up and tucking it into her bag. Checking her watch, she started when she realized what time it was.

 _Drat. I promised to go watch Mary's Quidditch tryout._ Lily thought to herself in dismay, quickly standing up and stuffing her textbooks back in her bag, skirting a group of whispering first years as she headed for the library door.

Setting off at a brisk pace down the corridor, Lily eyed the violently swaying branches visible through the window panes, wondering whether she should run up to Gryffindor dormitories to fetch her scarf before heading out to the pitch. It only took one more glance at the bent-over branches to persuade her, and she sped up as she headed towards the Gryffindor tower.

 _Is it safe to play Quidditch in this weather?_ She wondered worriedly, thinking about what those gusts to could do to her friend while she was flying.

Distracted as she was, Lily didn't notice Severus until she literally bumped into him as she rounded a corner, only prevented from stumbling and falling by the lean arms that wrapped around her, steadying her. A tingle shot up Lily's spine as she registered his proximity and she shivered slightly, pulling back as he carefully released her.

"Careful, you could hurt someone." He said quietly, not meeting her eyes.

Lily opened her mouth to say something, anything. She didn't know why she was so bothered by his cool treatment of her, after all, _she_ had been the one who had ended their friendship. But somehow, especially since that one Potions class, Lily had felt less sure that her decision had been the right one.

Before she could speak, though, Severus turned and began to walk away. She wanted to call after him, to make him come back so that she could explain everything, stop him embracing the Dark Arts. She knew she couldn't be friends with him if he didn't, but she wanted to, so badly.

Lily pressed her lips together and turned away, doubts swirling through her mind as she reached the Quidditch pitch, all thoughts of a scarf forgotten. Sitting down in the stands, teeth chattering slightly as her fiery hair swarmed around her face, she looked out at the players.

There was Mary, looking determined in her scarlet robes, and then an assortment of other Gryffindors, some of whom had been on the team in previous years. Her eyes widened slightly when she caught sight of Potter. She'd expected him to be on the team, of course, but she'd forgotten that the previous captain has graduated the previous year, so Potter now proudly sported the badge everyone knew he would eventually receive.

She shook her head slightly. Now his already insufferable swaggering would be even worse. The tryouts for the younger years passed as a blur, many of them sent off the field after their first lap around the pitch. Potter was clearly enjoying his new position, taking great pleasure in loudly criticizing or occasionally complimenting a player as they followed his instructions.

Lily only really payed attention to the tryouts when they reached Mary, and grinned in satisfaction when her friend aced the maneuvers she was set to do, moving on to score repeatedly on the flustered aspiring Keeper. She cheered loudly when Potter announced Mary would be one of the new Chasers, and rushed to congratulate her at the end.

As soon as Mary was swept away excited congratulations of their other friends, Lily felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Come to watch me fly, Evans?"

Lily scoffed, "You wish, Potter. I was here to watch Mary, thank you very much." She turned to leave.

"Come on, Evans, no need to be like that. Hey, I heard a Hogsmeade trip this weekend — wanna go with me?"

Lily's eyes widened. Had Potter just asked her out on a date? Severus had constantly reminded her that Potter fancied her, but honestly, hadn't he caught on to the fact that she considered him a blustering git? Of course, going out with Potter might help take her mind off her argument with Severus...but no, she couldn't. Potter may have been more certainly on the side of Light than Sev - _no, Severus_ , she reminded herself sternly - but that definitely wasn't a good enough reason to go out with him.

"No, thank you," Lily replied coolly, inwardly smiling at Potter's grimace of surprise. Apparently he wasn't used to being flat out refused. Leaving him to his realizations that maybe the whole world did _not_ bow to his every whim, she hurried after her friends, falling in step with them as they headed towards the Gryffindor common room.

xxxxx

Severus leaned back in a couch in the Slytherin common room, absentmindedly listening to Avery, Mulciber, and Nott comparing the exotic vacations they'd taken the previous summer. Most of his friends were extremely wealthy, unlike him, and he was used to hearing about their expensive exploits. His summer, on the other hand, had been populated only with studying and reading as he tried to avoid his drunk and hot-tempered father and his passive, beaten-down mother - and, of course, his run-in with Lily...

"Severus!" His depressing train of thought was interrupted by Avery's outburst. "Honestly, Severus, I had to call your name three times before you snapped out of that trance. I was _saying_ , you look like you've lost a Galleon and found a Knut. You're not still moping about that Mudblood, are you?"

"No. I told you, we're not friends anymore." Severus responded, gritting his teeth.

"Right. Anyway, Mulciber and I are heading out for a bit of fun. Liven this place up a bit." He grinned cruelly. "Want to come?"

Knowing that Avery's idea of 'fun' probably meant cornering and intimidating some helpless first year in the corridors, Severus didn't particularly feel like coming along. _Lily would want you to stay_ , he reminded himself, remember how she'd looked at him when they'd run into each other - literally - that afternoon. But then, unbidden, the image of James sneering at him, taunting him, reminding him that Lily now hated him, rose into his head. _If that's what the Light side is like, I don't want to be there._

"I'll come," he responded, rising from the couch.

xxxxx

Lily yawned, forcing herself to get out of her comfortable armchair so she could begin her prefect rounds. Finally standing up, she made her way over to the portrait-hole where Remus stood waiting. He was the other Gryffindor prefect, something she had a reason to be grateful for - out of their little quartet of mischief-makers, Remus Lupin was currently the only one who she could actually be friends with.

"Lily!" He greeted her enthusiastically, though she still noticed that he was looking rather pale and tired. As they fell into step, he went on. "James told me you rejected him earlier."

Lily shrugged. "You know how I feel about him, Remus. Why would he think I'd accept?"

"I don't know, actually," he grinned sheepishly as the rounded a corner. "Enough about that, though. I was wondering earlier whether you'd be able to explain that law we learned in Charms today, Fallott's Law for charming inanimate objects?"

They chatted amiably about their schoolwork for a while longer as they patrolled, though Lily noticed him stifling a yawn more than once. They caught a pair of Ravenclaw third years out of bed, and after they swiftly sent them back, Lily turned to Remus.

"You know, I can finish the rounds on my own. You look exhausted, you should get some rest."

Remus looked like he wanted to protest, but another yawn caught him before he could say anything and he seemed to see the sense her words, thanking her and hurrying back towards the dormitories.

Lily hummed quietly to herself as finished their rounds alone. She was passing a corridor full of empty classrooms on the fourth floor when she heard a sound that stopped her dead in her tracks. Listening carefully, she heard the cry again. "Help!"

 **Hey guys,**

 **I'm SUPER sorry about the very long wait, real life difficulties plus a couple different writing projects plus a writer's block in general caused me to temporarily put this story on hiatus, but I'm back and planning on updating regularly this summer.**

 **Thank you to those of you who've read this so far, your support is extremely appreciated! I'd love any positive feedback and/or constructive criticism for this chapter, so please review if you have anything to say :)**

 **-FelixFelicis13**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 **Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the queen, J.K. Rowling.**

"Aha! What have we here? A little second year out of bed...in an empty classroom...after curfew... _studying_?" Mulciber crowed gleefully as he ushered Avery and Severus into said classroom, closing the door behind them with finality. The second year in question looked up, terrified.

Severus's stomach twisted, but he kept his face impassive on the outside - he'd always been good at that. He recognized this victim. Calla Lewis, Muggleborn Hufflepuff, a tiny, bookish girl with a shock of reddish brown hair. She was known for her vivacious personality and, true to her house, unwavering loyalty. He swallowed the lump in his throat. _This is just a bit of fun, Severus_ , he reminded himself sternly, _it's not like we're going to torture her or something._

"I-I'm just studying for the Charms quiz tomorrow," she squeaked, standing up and awkwardly gathering her things and moving towards the door. "I'll just, er, leave now…"

"Now, now," Mulciber cut in smoothly, as Avery moved to block the door. "Wouldn't want to force you to get up and leave when you were looking so comfortable there, _studying_." He laughed mockingly. "After all, getting a quality education is _very_ important."

"Yeah, _very_ important," Avery echoed, sticking out his foot to trip her as she neared the door and then watching, satisfied, as her bottle of ink spilled over a completed essay. "Oops, looks like you'll have to redo that one."

Ellis sniffled, clearly holding back tears. "St-stop."

Mulciber shot a look at Severus, clearly signalling to him that it was his turn to pick up the mean banter, so he added half-heartedly, "Stop, Ellis? Where's the please?"

Mulciber laughed in satisfaction, "Yes, didn't your mummy teach you your manners, _Ellis_?"

The girl let out a sob, and bolted for the door, calling out "Help! Help!" only to fall on her face when Mulciber hit her with a Leg-Locker Curse.

"Hel-!" She tried again, but this time it was Severus who shut her up with an quick Silencing Charm. His misgivings had fallen to the background, replaced with a cold, hard knot inside his chest. Maybe it was her tears - he couldn't stand crying, it reminded him of when _he_ was the one forced into that same humiliation. He could almost hear the echoes in his ears: _Snivellus Snape, Snivellus Snape._

"What's the matter, Ellis?" He said viciously. "Was it what he said about your mummy? Your dirty, _Muggle_ , mummy?"

She whimpered and he faltered slightly, but snapshots of his father's – his _Muggle_ father's – cruelty sped through his head, hardening his resolve. He could vaguely hear Avery and Mulciber laughing behind him, but he was focused only on his next cutting taunt.

"It's no wonder you have no manners, it's only to be expected of a _Mudblood_." The knot in his chest seemed to squeeze as he spoke the final word, and he looked down at the partially immobilized girl beneath him, tears streaming down her face. His vision blurred, as if _he_ were the one crying, and for a second it seemed like her hair brightened to fiery red, her blue eyes replaced by almond-shaped green ones. _Lily_.

He stepped back, disgusted with himself. No wonder Lily wanted nothing more to do with him. Just now, he'd acted no better than Potter and his gang. Maybe that was all he could be - the bullied or the bully. He took another step back, and another, and then turned and fled the room.

xxxxx

Someone was in trouble. Spinning to face the origin of the cry for help, Lily broke into a run. Reaching the stairs, she faltered. It couldn't be too much farther, but should she go up or down? Then the cry sounded again, above her, this time cut off midway through. _Up, then_ , she decided grimly, racing up the stairs.

Nearing the top, she saw that she was in the fourth-floor corridor full of empty classrooms. Most of the doors were open, and she began checking each as she moved down the corridor.

Suddenly, a door near the end of the hallway slammed open, and someone stormed out in a flurry of oversized black robes. _Severus_. _Was he-?_ She opened her mouth to call out to him, but he barely seemed to register her presence as he ran past her. The one look she got at his face revealed a twisted grimace, but before she could see anything more he was gone.

She almost ran after him, but then realized that there must be at least one more person in that classroom. The attacker, if Severus had been the victim, or the victim, if Severus — she took a deep breath, steadying herself — if Severus had been the attacker. Making up her mind, she strode over to the door Severus had emerged from and yanked it open.

It took her a single glance around the room to assess the situation. Calla Ellis, a smart Hufflepuff second-year she'd tutored in Charms once was on the floor, legs locked and silent tears tracing their way down her face. Avery, only a few feet away from her, in the middle of a sentence - something about whether or not he should go after Severus? Mulciber, with a cruel leer and a wand already drawn as he turned towards her.

"Well well well, just look who it is." He smirked.

Lily's wand seemed to leap into her hand as she stepped between the two wannabe Death Eaters and the young girl. "Leave her alone. You two have absolutely no right to bully people like this."

"You don't get to order us around, Mudblood-" Avery started, but Mulciber waved a hand for him to stand down.

"Only two? Why, Severus must have passed you when he left just now. Surely even a dim Mudblood like you can deduce that he was here too? Oh, but I remember now — you used to _fancy_ him. Well then, of course a goodie-goodie Gryffindor like you doesn't want to believe he was teasing a helpless little itty bitty firstie, do you? Then let me set you straight, Evans. He's realized that there are much better tags he can do with his time than even think about going out with someone as dirty as you. Frankly, it would taint his future. No, things are much better off this way."

Lily was slightly taken aback by this malicious speech. Some of it she knew was a lie, but so much of it made her uncertain — had he _really_ decided against the Light, against trying for her, once and for all? Looking down at the terrified Calla, she realized she wouldn't find that as hard to believe as once might have. Her expression remained cool as she spoke.

"Well, that's his decision then. However, it still stands that what you did was _wrong_. I could report you for this, you know. Using offensive magic outside of class, on a lower year, even — well, how do you fancy cleaning the trophy cases for a month or two?."

Avery shot a look at Mulciber, who gave a slight nod. Without further warning, Avery turned and shot a stunner at her.

Fortunately, Lily had noticed the signal, and was prepared with a shield charm. She quickly retaliated with a stinging hex, which caught Avery right in the face, causing him, to stumble back, cursing.

Mulciber was quick to take his place, but Lily once again managed to block his curse. She tried another stinging hex, followed up by a quick " _Expelliarmus_!" but Mulciber was faster than Avery and blocked both of them, and the slicing hex he volleyed back at her grazed her arm, leaving a shallow cut.

Gritting her teeth against the sharp sting of pain, Lily raised her wand again, catching Mulciber with a Full Body Bind, and he stiffened, falling to the floor.

Too focused on Mulciber, Lily didn't realize Avery was sneaking up behind her until her legs snapped together, and she nearly fell over. Unlike young Calla, though, she had her wand in her hand and after a quick fumble, reversed the curse, then spun and advanced on Avery.

Avery was clearly realizing he wasn't going to win, and a look of panic spread across his face. Jabbing his wand at Lily, he wildly cast one more spell. "Sectumsempra!"

As the white light streaked towards her, Lily felt as if time sped up – one moment she was standing, wand in hand, and the next she was lying on the ground, mind clouded by pain and blood staining the floor around her. Dimly, she noticed the now-revived Mulciber yelling something at Avery, then the two of them fleeing the room, leaving her alone with Calla, who was twisting around like she was trying to get up.

' _Shit, I didn't fix Calla's legs…_ ' was her last, slightly delirious thought as she slipped into the painless bliss of unconsciousness.

xxxxx

Severus barely registered whoever it was he passed as he ran blindly down the corridor. The only thought in his mind was to _get out, get out, get out_ , as if maybe he could force himself out of his own body. He tripped on the last step of the blasted staircase and landed hard on his ankle, crumpling to the ground.

He felt tears dripping down the end of his hooked nose and rubbed them away angrily, face contorting as he imagined what a sorry sight he must look at the moment. A sallow, greasy-haired teenager crying in a heap at the bottom of a staircase.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to pull himself together. _You're not a fucking overemotional Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake._ No, he prided himself on his impassivity, and his ability to be truthful to himself – and that meant sorting this out, properly thinking over what had happened.

What had come over him? He'd teased and taunted people like that before. There was always that tiny niggling feeling that 'this isn't right,' but he could always forget it when he channeled his own pain, from his father, from the Marauders – he really wasn't picky. Something had come over him this time, though, when he'd spitefully uttered the word Mudblood. Calla had suddenly seemed to resemble– oh. Lily. It always came back to Lily, and that seemingly simple request she'd made of him last year.

He leaned his head against the wall. This had suddenly become a much larger moral dilemma, and he wasn't sure a quick sorting out of his mind at the bottom of a staircase would be enough to come to a conclusion.

Suddenly, something clicked in his mind and he sat straight up in alarm. The person he'd past after he left the classroom had been his year, definitely female, and he distinctly remembered a flash of bright red hair. Heading straight for the classroom he'd just left. _Fuck._ He got to his feet, wincing slightly as he put his weight on his ankle.

Before he could do anything else, however, a slow _thump, thump, thump_ and then a crash sounded above him. _Could it be–?_

Ignoring the twinge in his ankle, he took the stairs two at a time, breathing heavily. When he reached the top of the stairs, he didn't know whether to be worried or relieved when he saw it that it was Calla Ellis, not Lily.

Her legs were still locked together, and she had clearly been bunny-hopping down the entire corridor until she fell just now. Dislike spread across her face as she recognized him mingled with the expression of fear and worry that was already there. He fished his wand out of his robe and quickly reversed the curse on her, and in a rare fit of apology, awkwardly offered his hand to help her up. She rejected his offer, glaring at him scrambling to her feet on her own. Her worried expression returned as she spoke, renewed tears shining in her .

"It-it's Lily, Lily Evans. Avery, h-he cursed her. She-she's bleeding everywhere. Pl-please, help."

"Go to the hospital wing. Get Madam Pomfrey. Hurry!" Ellis nodded and scurried off, and Severus hurried towards the door, dread coursing through him.

Severus yanked open the door. He'd already known what he would see, but that somehow made it even worse. Lily lay unconscious on the floor in a pool of her own blood.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! What do you think? Please review if you have anything to say :) ~FelixFelicis13**


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